Princess Kate making public return amid cancer battle, per Kensington Palace

Princess Kate is returning to public duties following her cancer announcement in March.

Kensington Palace announced the news in a press release obtained by USA TODAY, along with a new photo of Kate, which was posted to the official Prince and Princess of Wales Instagram account.

“My treatment is ongoing and will be for a few more months. On the days I feel well enough, it is a joy to engage with school life, spend personal time on the things that give me energy and positivity, as well as starting to do a little work from home,” she said in the post, thanking well-wishers “for all the kind messages of support and encouragement.”

Princess Kate gave royal onlookers an update on her health, writing that she is “making good progress,” while noting that “as anyone going through chemotherapy will know, there are good days and bad days.”

“On those bad days you feel weak, tired and you have to give in to your body resting. But on the good days, when you feel stronger, you want to make the most of feeling well,” she wrote in the statement.

The Princess of Wales also said she will attend Trooping the Colour, a ceremonial tradition and public celebration of King Charles III’s birthday, on Saturday. She missed last week’s Colonel’s Review rehearsal on June 8. The event honors the reigning British monarch, although his birthdate falls on Nov. 14 each year.

“I’m looking forward to attending The King’s Birthday Parade this weekend with my family and hope to join a few public engagements over the summer, but equally knowing I am not out of the woods yet,” she said in a statement posted to her Instagram account shared with Prince William.

Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales, appears in this still image from a handout video released March 22, 2024, in which she announced that she is undergoing preventative chemotherapy after cancer was found to have been present, following her abdominal surgery in January. BBC

The working royal, who has been away from official duties and out of the public eye for most of this year, is making a public comeback after announcing a private cancer battle this spring. In March, she appeared in a video message to announce her diagnosis after weeks of speculation and conspiracy theories about her whereabouts.

“I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you personally for all the wonderful messages of support and for your understanding whilst I’ve been recovering from surgery. It has been an incredibly tough couple of months for our entire family, but I’ve had a fantastic medical team who’ve taken great care of me for which I am so grateful,” she said in the video.

Last week, Princess Kate issued a rare apology after she missed last Saturday’s Colonel Review celebrations.

Princess Kate with her three children, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis and Prince George, pictured in 2019. She is set to return to work after missing most of this year's public duties amid a private battle with undisclosed cancer.

The Irish Guards, a regiment of the British army, shared a letter sent by Princess Kate on X on Saturday where she wrote that she was proud of “the entire regiment ahead of the Colonel’s Review and Trooping of the Colour.”

“Being your colonel remains a great honor and I am very sorry that I’m unable to take the salute at this year’s Colonel’s Review. Please pass my apologies to the whole Regiment, however I do hope that I am able to represent you all once again very soon,” she added in the letter.

She continued: “Please send my very best wishes and good luck to all involved.”

In her March announcement video, she called her cancer a “huge shock” for her family, adding that she and Prince William have done “everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family.” The pair are parents to three children: Princess George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5.

At the time, she said she would undergo “a course of preventive chemotherapy treatment” for undisclosed cancer.